I’d like to open my Oregon Brewers Festival report by saying that I can’t think of a better hobby than writing about craft beer. In the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to travel, try fantastic beers from all over the world, join a community of like-minded individuals and meet, converse and correspond with many of the brewers responsible for creating our favorite beverages. I hope everyone both realizes and appreciates how uniquely accessible this industry is, and not just to the media. At most craft breweries, Timmy B. Enthusiast can take a tour, sample beer and talk openly with brewers about their latest efforts. This is like strolling into Nintendo’s HQ and getting to discuss the inspiration for Mario Galaxy 2 with Miyamto or popping into Muscle Shoals to watch the Black Keys record Brothers and casually chatting with them between cuts. We are fortunate.
And this fortune brought me to Portland on Thursday to attend the 23rd Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. Arriving a little after noon, my wife and I had time to try a couple brews before I had to head off to the media preview. I started off my day with the strongest non-buzz beer at the event, Flying Fish’s Exit 4. The beer was one of my favorites of the day; a crisp, dry Trippel buried under a mountain of hops. Both Simcoe and Amarillo were easily detectable, but I suspect there were at least a couple others. The flavorful Abbey yeast took a back seat to the strong hopping, adding another layer instead of fighting for dominance.
Next up was the buzz beer tent, where I dropped a pair of tokens on Deschutes’ Streaking the Quad, a Belgian Strong ale that had received much praise from the Cheers to Belgian Beers Festival. Praise that was lost on me. Up front it was overly sweet yet surprisingly thin. The finish, a mix of hot alcohol and cherry cough suppressant. With my first two beers down, both over 9% ABV, I decided to curtail the drinking and just hang out with my wife until the media preview started.
At the media event, I sat across from Beer Goddess Lisa Morrison and Abe Goldman-Armstrong, and next to a nice guy from Seattle whose name is completely escaping me (sorry – Apology Editor). Looking back now, I could have probably written a better report by just jotting down what they were saying.
I also saw Bill from It’s Pub Night again and met Jason from Portland Beer and Music. Jason was the only person to take up my challenge to guess the 17 preview beers; a challenge that I somehow managed to win by one point (10-9). Here are my tasting notes and some comments for the 17 preview beers.
WINNERS
Cascade – Summer Gose
Notes: Tart, wheaty aroma. Clean acidic taste, wheaty and thirst quenching.
Comments: A great way to start off the preview. A fine example of a Leipzig Gose; cleanly tart and very refreshing.
Collaborator – Sunstone Pilsner
Notes: Wheaty aroma, low spicy German hop and toasty Pils malt notes. Medium-bodied and wheaty. Spicy hops transition to a sweeter malt finish.
Comments: This brew just works. A clean, well-hopped Pilsner. A little wheat bite, but no haze; the beer is lagered crystal clear. I wouldn’t mind seeing this brew make the jump from Collaborator project to part of Widmer’s W series.
Upright Brewing – Reggae Junkie Gruit
Notes: Peppery, herbal aroma with low fruit notes. Very herbal flavor; lemon, peppery, tart.
Comments: This beer is definitely Upright. Pungent herbal aromatics accurately preview the flavor; the lemony citrus and pepper give way to a tart, dry finish. An impressive example of what can be accomplished without hops and a beer worth trying if you can find it.
Boulevard – Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale.
Notes: Light sweet, pepper aroma. Sweetness fades to fruity, citrus middle.
Comments: Exactly the opposite of The Bruery’s saison, which failed to deliver on the promise of it’s aromatics. Boulevard’s brew on the other hand played down it’s intense flavors in the aroma. A lot of farmhouse yeast phenols with a nice citrus punch from a bunch of Amarillo hops.
Sierra Nevada – Tumbler
Notes: Caramel colored. Roasted chocolate and smoky aroma. Toasty, caramel sweet, low smoky flavor.
Comments: Tumbler is Sierra Nevada’s new Fall Seasonal, replacing their Anniversary Ale. It caught me by surprise how much I enjoyed this brew. A lot like the Smoked Rye Mild I have sitting in the fermenter.
Oakshire – Overcast Espresso Stout
Notes: Overcast Espresso Stout.
Comments: Overcast Espresso Stout. Seriously, the consensus around the media tent was, “Why are they serving this? We all know what it tastes like, we all know it’s good.” Well, maybe not the guy from the mid-west. I should have remembered to ask him what he thought.
Maui – Coconut Porter
Notes: Dark brown with a sweet, malty aroma. Lots of toasted coconut. Rich coconut flavor, chocolate finish.
Comments: Another brew I have had many times. Intense coconut flavor on top of a smooth, chocolaty porter base.
Rogue – 21
Notes: Cola colored. Low hop aroma with a thick caramel sweetness. Creamy, caramel sticky, alcohol warmth.
Comments: Strong caramel malt flavor with a sweet creaminess from the Golden Naked Oats. The only beer of the preview which a discernible alcohol presence. Decadent.
FAILS
Caldera – Hibiscus Ginger Beer
Notes: Grapefruit juice-pink in color. Spicy, ginger aroma. Sharp ginger taste, but watery and too little bitterness. Waxy finish.
Comments: This one tasted like ginger-flavored water. The ginger is strong enough, but the body is too thin and there just aren’t any hops to balance it. Probably in some way the victim of following Cascade’s fantastic Gose.
Natian – Destination
Notes: Light cola brown. Thick, sweet aroma with a strong roasted barley note. Coffee-like roasted flavor with a lasting, bitter finish.
Comments: I tried, but just couldn’t find much I liked about this one. The strong roasted character completely beguiled any hop or honey flavor. The results, a bitter and slightly acrid brew. The roasted barley needs dialed down several notches here.
The Bruery – 7 Grain Saison
Notes: Pale yellow. Spicy pineapple fruit aroma. Effervescent, grainy, disappointing flavor.
Comments: This is the first beer from The Bruery than I haven’t been impressed with. The aroma smelled promising of tropical fruit and saison-funk, but the flavors were muted. Instead, the biggest thing I noticed was the gritty flavor that comes with liberal use of unmalted grains.
MEH
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing – Olallieberry Cream Ale
Notes: Color very close to Caldera Brew. Berry/honey sweet aroma. Smooth and sweet with an odd, grainy finish. Not tart.
Comments: I think this beer would be a lot better if some of the purported tartness of the Olallieberry was present. Unfortunately, this brew was sweet from start to finish. Not offensively sweet, but sweeter than I prefer. If a smooth drinking, berry-sweet beer sounds good to you, you will probably like this brew.
Great Divide – Hoss
Notes: Amber color with a sweet, wet-grain aroma. Rye up front with a heavy, sweet finish.
Comments: Hoss smelled oddly like my kitchen when I’m mashing grain. The brew had a lot of rye flavor, but the spiciness faded to a thick, sweet grain finish. A flavorful brew that caught me off guard when I was expecting a crisp, dry rye beer.
Rock Bottom – Oud Heverlee
Notes: Floral and sweet. Stronger herbal aroma than Reggae Junkie Gruit. Lasting bitterness.
Comments: Not knowing anything about the Flemish Brabant style, I had no idea what to expect from Oud Heverlee. What I got was sweet, Belgian ale with a strong floral aroma and an odd bitterness that hung around forever (the tulips?).
Green Flash – Le Freak
Notes: Fruity esters, pungent hop aroma. Thick body.
Comments: Less attenuated than a Trippel, Le Freak had a heavy residual sweetness. On top of this sat a huge amount of citrusy and piny American hops. I have had Le Freak a couple times in the past and do not remember it tasting anything like this brew. More like a heavy-hopped Belgian Strong Ale. See Flying Fish’s Exit 4 for a fantastic IPA/Trippel.
Widmer – GFX-72 (Captain Shaddock IPA)
Notes: Golden with a sharp, citrus aroma. Well-hopped, strong citrus flavor. Damn Citra hops.
Comments: Made with grapefruit peel and named after the man responsible for bringing grapefruit to the West Indies, Captain Shaddock (the beer) is sort of a tongue in cheek response to the comment that some IPAs taste like grapefruit. The grapefruit was apparent, but not overwhelming. Too bad the same cannot be said for the Citra hops which have been showing up to ruin more and more of my beers lately.
For those of you keeping track, that was only 16 beers. I missed Terminal Gravity’s Single Hop (Columbus) Double IPA while searching for a restroom. After the media event, I met back up with my wife, now been joined by her sister, and attempted to sample the rest of the beers on my shortlist.
Kona’s Coco Loco Big Island Brown tasted like a toned down version of Maui’s Porter. I was impressed with Bayern’s Dump Truck, a rich malty Bock with spicy German hops and a hint of alcohol in the finish. Ninkasi’s Maiden the Shade I’m still on the fence about. Despite the wide array of hops used, the piny Simcoes seemed to dominate the flavor. I think some of the other spicy and citrusy hops could have been better showcased if the Simcoe was dialed back. Deserving of another try when it isn’t the 20th beer of the day. Surly’s Bitter Brewer is another beer that may have suffered from being sampled so late in the day. Maybe not weak for a session Bitter, but lacking in flavor for a Surly brew.
I ended the afternoon with a pair of great barrel-aged brews, Goose Island’s Sofie and Oakshire’s buzz beer, a Pinot Barrel Strong Ale. Sofie is a delicate farmhouse ale, tart and dry with just a hint of oak from its time spent in wine barrels. Oakshire’s brew is the exact opposite, malty and rich with a strong vinous character.
At this point I was out of tokens and had just launched a beer onto my (understanding – Apology Editor) wife’s shirt, while trying to fish a pen out of my pocket to take more notes. A quick stop at Kell’s for a baked gorgonzola plate and we were back on the road to Eugene.
My top 5 beers of the festival were:
1. Flying Fish Exit 4
2. Oakshire – Pinot Barrel Very Ill-Tempered Gnome
3. Rogue – 21
4. Bayern – Dump Truck Extra Pale Summer Bock
5. Goose Island – Sofie
I want to thank Noel, Chris and everyone at the Oregon Brewers Festival for putting on a great event. We’ll see you next year.
Cheers!
Kevin